Most television viewers now receive their video signals through a content aggregator such as a cable or satellite television provider. Digital video broadcasting (DVB) systems, such as satellite systems, are generally known. A DVB system that delivers video service to a home will usually include a video services receiver, system, or device, which is commonly known as a set-top box (STB). In the typical instance, encoded television signals are sent via a cable or wireless data link to the viewer's home, where the signals are ultimately decoded in the STB. The decoded signals can then be viewed on a television or other appropriate display as desired by the viewer.
In addition to receiving and demodulating video content (such as television programming), many video services receivers are able to provide additional features. Examples of popular features available in many modern video services receivers include electronic program guides (EPGs), digital video recorders (DVRs), “place-shifting” features for streaming received content over a network or other medium, and/or the ability to simultaneously view multiple programs showing on different channels using picture-in-picture (PIP) functionality.
A typical viewer of broadcast, recorded, or on-demand video may have certain viewing habits, traits, or preferences, especially when watching recorded video content that supports trick play modes (such as fast-forward, skip-ahead, or commercial bypass modes). For example, some users tend to fast-forward through or skip over all advertisements and commercials, while other users may be in the habit of watching all commercials related to video games. As another example, some users may choose to watch only scoring plays during recorded football games. Unfortunately, each individual end user is still expected to manually control the playback characteristics of recorded, buffered, and on-demand video programs during the presentation of such programs.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an intelligent video delivery system that learns the viewing preference and habits of the end user for purposes of automatically controlling certain playback characteristics of video events. In addition, it is desirable to have a database system (which can be cloud-based) that intelligently collects, analyzes, and maintains user interaction data that indicates the content consumption behavior of users of the video delivery system. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.